Picking your nose: When your child picks their nose

It’s not just your child who picks their nose, around 91% of adults have admitted to surveys that they have this habit. However, this habit is frowned upon in most European and Asian countries. Celebrities or politicians who are secretly photographed picking their nose often find this photo in daily newspapers. Your child will also experience how their friends laugh at them at school or in kindergarten if they observe them picking their nose.

Why your child is picking their nose

Most of the time, your child picks their nose to relieve an unpleasant itching. His body produces nasal secretions, most of which go down the nasopharynx into the throat. A small part drains through the nose, and then it can sometimes be itchy. Allergies can also be a trigger for an itchy nose, as can dry air. Picking your nose is one of the so-called nervous habits, similar to biting your fingernails or sucking your thumb. It helps your child relieve stress or tension. Many children give up this habit on their own as they get older. Children with ADHD are more likely to pick their noses because it reduces their nervousness.

Picking your nose easily injures your nose

In rare cases, drilling can cause nosebleeds. Then your child has injured the blood vessels in the nasal septum with his finger or fingernail. If the nose is bleeding, your child should definitely not pick their nose. The mucous membranes of the nose need rest and should not be stressed too much for at least two hours. Although most people have more bacteria in their nasal mucosa than their fingers, your child could transmit bacteria and get an infection by picking their nose. The nostrils can also widen.

When your child picks their nose compulsively

In very rare cases, nose picking is abnormal. If your child’s nose picking is compulsive, it’s called rhinotillexomania. The experts then speak of “behaviour with illness value”. When your child cannot perform his compulsion to pick his nose, he becomes anxious and experiences extreme tension. If your child picks its nose excessively or compulsively, there is a risk that the nasal septum will perforate, i.e. break through. Also, intense nose picking over a long period of time could result in dissection of the ethmoid, the bone of the cranium at the end of the nasal cavity, similar to sinus surgery. If your child picks their nose for more than an hour a day for a long period of time, you should ask your pediatrician or ear, nose and throat doctor for advice.

How do you react when your child picks their nose?

• Be patient and don’t punish your child: Your child follows an impulse to remove something annoying from the nose. You shouldn’t concern yourself with that. If your child picks their nose because they are nervous, the punishment will make them even more stressed.
• Talk to your child: Tell your child not to pick their nose and why. Explain to your child that picking their nose may be laughed at and that it is not an act to be done in public.
• Show your child alternatives: Practice with your child how to use a handkerchief. Motivate your child in their resolution to break the habit and think together about what could help your child. Maybe a reward?
• Help your child to relax: show your child other ways to reduce their stress, for example with a relaxation exercise. When he learns to release his tension, he doesn’t resort to other nervous substitutes like biting his fingernails or sucking his thumb.
• Keep fingers occupied: When your child’s fingers are occupied, such as by a squeezable ball or a toy, they will be much less likely to act nervously.
• Protect the nasal mucosa: You can wrap a thin cloth around your child’s fingertips. This reduces the risk of injury to the mucous membranes. You can keep the mucous membranes moist with fresh air or seawater nasal spray. This reduces the tension in the nose and makes it less itchy. You can ask your pharmacist which nasal sprays are safe for your child’s mucous membranes.
• Make nose picking unattractive: Too much nose picking can cause the nostrils to widen. Make your child understand what that means. For fingernail biters there is a special, bitter-tasting nail polish that you can also use with this problem. If your child puts the booger in their mouth, they will taste the bitter taste of the nail polish and may lose interest.
• Hoping and Ignoring: If all else fails, then you should ignore this habit and hope that your child will eventually stop on their own.